Skiing!

And FINALLY the long awaited ski post.  Our ski trip was Jan3-Jan9.  We left on Tuesday evening, which worked great--Dan is a night driver and Olivia was able to sleep most of the ride to Colby after we picked up Grandpa.  It also allowed us to leisurely get around on Wednesday.  Olivia did okay with the car travel.  After about 1.5-2 hours she was ready for a leg stretch.  We arrived in Dillon on Wednesday afternoon and spent a little time at the Target to stretch our legs and kill time before hotel check-in.  After checking in and relaxing a bit, we headed to the Dam Brewery.  We enjoyed dinner, Olivia tried her first lemon (not bad), and enjoyed waving and trying to get people to say hello to her.  She also enjoyed her mac n cheese and got a prize after the meal.  Surprisingly, everyone crashed early on Wednesday, except for Sarah who watched everyone sleep.  Mary, Kurtis, Dave, and the Shook clan arrived sometime after mid-night.
We were excited to ski on Thursday--we skied at Breckenridge.  It was their 50th Anniversary, so that was something to say we did!  Olivia had a great time hanging out with Grandpa this day.  They explored the village, hung out in the restaurant/lodge area, and spent a long time watching the ski school kids.  When we came down at lunch, Olivia was crashed in Grandpa's arms.  We skied the afternoon, joining with the Shooks after their morning lesson.  Unfortunately, both Breck and Vail had very little snow so the conditions were icy and sometimes dirt/rocky.
We traveled to Vail after our day of skiing.  We checked in a Lionsquare (what a treat and blessing to have a ski-in ski-out!).  We went out for dinner and enjoyed time together as a group.  Olivia did excellent at the restaurant despite it being a long day and past her bedtime.
Aunt Mary hung out with Olivia on Friday morning, so once again Dan and Sarah got to ski.  Aunt Mary introduced Olivia to the gondola.  Olivia liked being able to watch everyone on the mountain below, especially on the ride down.  Katie took the afternoon shift with Olivia which was a nice surprise.  Friday evening we watched the bowl game and explored the village with Olivia.
Sarah stayed down with Olivia on Saturday morning, and enjoyed some relaxing.  Saturday afternoon Dan hung out with her.  Saturday was a day of snowing!!!  It was blustery and chilly, but snow!  We enjoyed a spaghetti dinner together on Saturday and then went out into Lionshead Village to wander a bit and for gelato. Sunday Grandpa spent time with Olivia and we skied a bit longer before coming down off the mountain for lunch.  The skiing was great--fresh snow, some nice groomed runs, and sun.

Overall, Olivia had a great time watching everyone, exploring new things, and analyzing how everyone is able to snowboard and ski.  We are pretty sure she'll be ready to try it herself soon!  Dan and Sarah just enjoyed the skiing and time away.  And we all enjoyed the extended family time.

Olivia liked the chair in the hotel at Dillon.

Watching the zamboni with daddy.

Loving the gondola ride--thanks for the pic Aunt Mary!

Spending time with Aunt Mary (and later Uncle Kurtis) was a perk of the trip.

Olivia loved looking out over the edge of the gondola.

Walking in Lionshead Village with mama.

Kinda of a scary shot of Dan, but check out his pizza.

Enjoying dinner together.

Snow!

The group getting ready to ski.

Dan ready for the last day of skiing. (taken from our doorway)

View out the door of our room-we usually took the gondola up to ski.